Action Research Plan Update

My action research project is in full swing.  We have hit a few road bumps here and there, but we are still on course.  The detention section of my plan was suspended.  Our campus lost more than 20 teachers this past school year.  Some transferred to other campuses.  Many left the district.  After hearing that so many teachers were leaving, I was unable to conduct a survey at the end of last school year to determine the teacher support for such a program to begin this fall.  To conduct the survey at this point would not enable me to have a system fully planned and ready for the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year.  I will keep it in mind and possibly try again for next year.  Since our administrator said teachers would have to run it, it is not an option for me to plan it without having full teacher support.

Daily recess has been a struggle for me.  So far, there has been only one day that I was not able to stop and give my class recess.  Our administrator changed my lunch schedule from last year.  Last year, I had a schedule that allowed me to have recess right after lunch on our one assigned day a week.  If I had the same schedule this year, it would be so much easier to go straight outside whenever weather permitted.  As it is now, I actually have to stop in the middle of a lesson cycle to break for recess.  It feels awkward.  Most of the time, we have inside recess where students play board and card games.  They still enjoy themselves.  After conducting a survey, I found that most of the class prefers indoor recess.  Of course, more boys prefer to go outside.  I make every effort to go outside at least 2 days a week.

Participating teachers from each grade level have shared similar stories. One told me she missed recess all but one day in one week and noticed how the conduct grades dropped drastically for most of the class.  Of course, I told her to keep up the documentation.  That fact alone shows how not having recess decreased student motivation to exert self-control in class.  Only one teacher out of the 5 of us makes it a point to go outside every day.  I wonder if her classroom being so close to the playground factors in at all. 

We feel confident that we will be able to show that recess has made a difference in the climate of our classrooms and the academic performance of our students.  Making daily recess a campus practice will definitely be a positive, beneficial change for our building.